Etymology

soviet

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Today it means: A workers' council, an institution first formed during the 1905 Russian Revolution and then instituted as the main form of communist government at all levels in the Soviet Union; by extension, a similar organization in early Chinese communism and elsewhere. Full definition →

Russian сове́т ← Old Church Slavonic съвѣтъ ← Proto-Slavic *větъ
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soviet · noun, adjective1

  1. Proto-Slavic · derived from*větъ“council, talk”
  2. Old Church Slavonic · derived fromсъвѣтъ“advice”
  3. Russian · borrowed fromсове́т“council”
  4. English todaysoviet

Borrowed from Russian сове́т (sovét, “council”), from Old Russian borrowed from Old Church Slavonic съвѣтъ (sŭvětŭ, “advice”). Compounded from съ- (sŭ-) + вѣтъ (větŭ, “agreement”), from Proto-Slavic *větъ (“council, talk”). Related words include наве́т (navét), изве́т (izvét), отве́т (otvét), приве́т (privét), обе́т (obét), ве́че (véče), отвеча́ть (otvečátʹ), отве́тить (otvétitʹ), завеща́ть (zaveščátʹ), and совещаться (soveščatʹsja). Probably cognate with Polish witać (“to welcome”).

Soviet · noun, adjective2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁wes-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁wésus?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁su-
  5. Proto-Balto-Slavic*su-
  6. Proto-Slavic*sъ-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*weyt-
  8. Proto-Balto-Slavic*waitas
  9. Proto-Slavic*větъ
  10. Proto-Slavic*sъvětъ
  11. Old Church Slavonicсъвѣтъ (sŭvětŭ)
  12. Russianсове́т (sovét)
  13. English todaySoviet

Borrowed from Russian сове́т (sovét).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.